I Don't Miss You at All
by Ann Valentine
Summary: Following a nasty break-up, Percy and Hermione have to deal with life after. Percy/Hermione, slight occurrences of Percy/OFC, Harry/Ginny, and Ron/Hermione.


**disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters contained herein. They belong to JKR, Scholastic, and WB. If I owned the series, this pairing totally would have happened.  
**thanks**: Janet, for being awesome, and Chris, for putting up with me. Also, Selena Gomez, for the awesome song.

At the time, everyone had been surprised at how vicious the breakup had been.  
"But they're both so quiet!" Molly had said tearfully to Arthur, dabbing at her eyes with a hankie. "And they were so happy together!"  
"Still waters run deep, dear," Arthur said, squeezing his wife's shoulder reassuringly. "It'll all work out, you'll see."

In retrospect, though, people began to see that it made sense.  
"She's always been mad," Ron commented to Harry as they crossed the lobby of the Ministry. "Remember, she went off on me at least once a month."  
"Yeah, but usually you deserved it," Harry pointed out.  
"Are you saying he didn't? Because he probably did. Probably told her he was seeing Minister Shacklebolt on the side or something."

It hadn't been quite like that.  
"...anyway, so Mum's asked us round for dinner next Tuesday if we can make it. Are you free that night?" Silence. "Percy?" Still nothing. Hermione turned. "Are you listening?"  
"Hmm?" Percy looked up from his paperwork. "Sorry, what?"  
Hermione huffed. "Were you even listening?"  
"I'm sorry, but you know this project is due Friday - "  
"And that's more important than me?"  
"_No_, of course not, but I just need to get this done." A brief look of annoyance crossed his face as he turned back to his work, and that was it.  
"This keeps happening!" Hermione said rather shrilly, throwing up her hands. "Every night this week - no, this _month_! Not now, not now, not now! It's never _now_, it's always 'later,' but later never seems to come!" She glared at him, and Percy glared right back.  
"That's not _fair_, Hermione, you _know_ this is a really busy time - "  
"It's busy for the Aurors, too, but Harry's not neglecting Ginny - "  
"I'm not 'neglecting' you; we just went to the theater last week - "  
"That's not what I mean and you know it!"  
"Oh, and that's my fault? It takes two to foxtrot - "  
" - two to _tango_ - "  
"Whatever, the metaphor is still valid. I can't be expected to take charge all the time - "  
"Yes, fine, but I'd really like it if you'd kiss _me_ once instead of vice versa - "  
"But I kissed you today!"  
"On the cheek, and after I prompted you to!"  
By this point, they were standing, red in the face, screaming, barely an inch away from each other, and Percy threw his hands up in disgust. "Fine! Whatever! Can I _please _just have some peace to get this _done_!"  
"Fine!" Hermione spat. "You want peace, you can have it! I'm leaving!" She spun, curls hitting Percy in the face, shoved her feet into her shoes and grabbed her cloak from the coatrack, then stormed out of the flat, slamming the door behind her. Percy wrenched the door open to yell something really vicious after her, but she'd already Disapparated. Feeling robbed of his victory, he slammed the door again and threw himself onto the couch. She'd be back.  
Two hours later, she wasn't.  
_  
_ The next day, Percy arrived at the Ministry at eight forty-five on the dot. He glanced around with a nervousness and a hopefulness he would have denied up and down, and tried not to let his face fall too visibly. Usually, he'd Apparate over to Hermione's flat at eight-forty, and then they'd Side-Along to work, and maybe she would have - ? He straightened his spine, fists clenching at his sides, and strode across the lobby, head high. There was no reason for her to be there.  
Five minutes later, Hermione appeared in the lobby of the Ministry and glanced around. If anyone had asked, she would have said she'd been looking for an important piece of paperwork and had just been running late. She would have denied to the death that she had waited five minutes, just in case. But he hadn't come, and there had been no reason for him to.  
Percy didn't leave the office at all that day. He sent a memo down to the commissary for his lunch, and any interdepartmental communication was either done via memo or sending one of his co-workers to do it. It wasn't _avoiding_ things, he told himself, it was. Conserving his energy. Because he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before. Which was true. That it wasn't the whole truth wasn't important.  
Hermione wasn't so lucky. She was spearheading some legislation to improve the living conditions of house-elves, and the process required multiple, daily trips to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Every step onto and off of a lift was a gamble, and she nearly had a heart attack when the doors opened to reveal a shock of red hair.  
"Hi, Hermione!"  
"Oh, hi, Ron," Hermione replied with a relieved smile, stepping onto the lift. "How are you?"  
"Brilliant! We've been working on some jinxes Harry developed, and ... "  
Luckily, Ron kept talking the whole time, so he never asked Hermione how she was, and she didn't have to lie.

Molly was the first to suspect something was wrong. On Friday, she received two letters via owl - one from Hermes, Percy's screech owl, in the morning, and one hired from the post office in Diagon Alley in the early evening. Both said about the same thing: _I'm terribly sorry, but I won't be able to make it to dinner tomorrow. Give my love to everyone_. Percy's cited an excess of work, and Hermione's claimed she wasn't feeling well.  
"That's odd," she said to herself. Casting a glance at the clock on the wall (which now included Harry, Hermione, and Fleur), she saw that Percy's hand pointed to 'work,' and Hermione's pointed to 'home.' Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and it certainly lined up with what they'd said, but something still prickled at the back of her mind. Maybe sending care packages would help - cookies for Percy, since he always looked so thin, and soup for Hermione. Armed with a plan, Molly smiled and went into the kitchen.

Secrets never remained one for long in the Weasley family, and this one was no exception. That it had happened on Wednesday and it had stayed a secret until Sunday was miraculous enough.  
Ginny and Hermione had agreed the week before to meet for brunch at a cafe in Diagon Alley. Ginny arrived first, wearing a pair of big sunglasses - she'd started playing for the Holyhead Harpies a few months after her graduation from Hogwarts, and had made quite a name for herself in the interceding eight months, leading to a near-constant hounding by wizarding tabloids. (That she was shacking up with the Boy Who Lived only made things worse.) Hermione arrived a few minutes later.  
"Sorry I'm late," she apologize, giving Ginny a hug. "Things were a little hectic today."  
"It's okay," Ginny replied with a smile, offering Hermione her arm. "Let's get some breakfast."  
The first part of brunch went well - Ginny regaled Hermione with stories about her teammates and some of the more ridiculous things that had happened at practice, and Hermione talked about the legislation she was working on along with some of the incidents that had happened in the office.  
After entrees had arrived (French toast for Ginny and an omelet for Hermione), Ginny said, "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."  
"What?" said Hermione.  
"Mum said you couldn't make it yesterday because you were ill."  
"Oh! Right. Yes, I'm feeling loads better, thank you."  
Ginny grinned. "Be sure you don't give it to Percy."  
The corners of Hermione's mouth twitched down before she could stop them, and Ginny's eyes widened. "What's wrong? He didn't give it to you, did he?"  
"No! No, nothing like that." Her lower lip trembled, and she shook her head. "Nothing. It's nothing."  
Ginny's eyes got bigger, and she leaned forward on the table. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"  
"No!" Hermione repeated, horrified. She bit her lip for a moment, then said softly, "We ... we broke up on Wednesday."  
"Oh my God." Ginny sat back. "What happened?"  
Hermione reached for a napkin and dabbed her eyes. "We had a fight and I stormed out and - " She swallowed and wiped her eyes again. "I haven't seen him since." Letting out a half-sob, half-laugh, she managed a watery smile. "Sorry. I'm crying all over brunch."  
"Don't apologize," Ginny said firmly. "D'you want me to hex him? I will. I'll be happy to. Harry's been working on one that makes y - "  
"No," Hermione cut her off. "Thank you. Can we - can we just drop it? I'd appreciate it."  
The way Ginny pursed her lips made it clear that no, she didn't want to drop it, but she didn't want to upset Hermione further. Instead, she changed topics, retelling a rather raunchy joke George had told her.  
The girls parted ways an hour later, with hugs and a promise to see each other soon. Hermione thanked Ginny for listening, and Ginny assured her it was no problem. They walked to the Apparition point together, and instead of Apparating back to her flat, Ginny focused on a new destination: the Burrow.  
By three o'clock, everyone knew.

"Percy? Are you there?"  
The voice startled Percy out of his light sleep, and he started awake, overbalanced, and fell off the couch. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he fumbled for his glasses and put them on, turning to the fireplace.  
"Mum?"  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, dear," Molly said. "May I come over?"  
Percy blinked. "Er ... sure." He grabbed the couch and hoisted himself to his feet as the rest of his mother appeared in the fireplace. As soon as she had, she rushed to him and embraced him tightly.  
"Is it true? What Ginny said about you and Hermione?"  
"What did Ginny say?" Percy asked, feeling rather blindsided by all of this.  
"That you two had a fight and broke up! Is it true?"  
Percy sighed. "Yes, Mum, it's true." As soon as the words left his mouth, Molly looked horrified and tightened her arms around him.  
"I can't believe it! Are you all right?" She looked up at him, concerned, and continued, "Do you need anything? Should I send you more cookies? You should come home and recover there; I can g - "  
"Mum!" Percy cut her off mid-sentence. "I'm fine, I promise. I appreciate your concern, but I assure you I'm all right."  
Molly frowned up at him, face still filled with worry. "Are you sure? Ginny said Hermione was a mess - "  
Percy's face spasmed slightly before it returned to its original, neutral expression. "I'm sorry to hear that, but yes, I'm fine. Really."  
"If you're sure, dear." Molly pulled a hand away from him long enough to pat his face gently. "I'll send more cookies." Percy opened his mouth to protest, but the look Molly shot him cut off any argument. "And you're coming to dinner next week."  
Percy knew better than to argue this time, and nodded. "All right. I'll see you then."  
Molly smiled and hugged her son again before stepping away. "Don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything, okay?"  
"Of course, Mum. I won't."  
With one more hug, Molly bid her son goodbye, tossed some Floo powder into the fireplace, and with a cry of "The Burrow!", disappeared. Percy sighed before sitting back down on the couch, taking off his glasses, and lying down.  
Sleep was a long time in coming.

Their luck ran out on Monday. Percy finally had to leave the office in order to run some paperwork from the Minister to the Floo Network Authority. He took a deep breath outside of the lifts and buried his nose in the sheaf of paperwork he was carrying - a trick he'd perfected when he'd been estranged from his family and had been trying to avoid his father. He looked busy, and no one tried to bother him. The lift dinged when it arrived, and he stepped in without looking up. It was empty, and he was relieved. On each floor, the doors opened, letting someone in, and he only glanced up briefly each time, nodding as they entered if he knew them.  
On the fourth floor, he glanced up as the doors opened, and his eyes met Hermione's. He felt color swell up into his face as she went white, and he buried himself back in his paperwork, doing his best to ignore her. At the sixth floor, he exited as quickly as he could without actually running. Once the doors had closed and he was alone, he gritted his teeth and forced the color from his cheeks before straightening and pushing open the door leading to the Floo Network Authority.  
Hermione glanced around the elevator and looked at the floor hard, blinking rapidly. Without even paying attention to what floor the lift had arrived at, she murmured her _excuse me_s and made her way out. Glancing both ways down the corridor, she quickly located the women's toilet and barely managed to make it into a stall before she began to cry.

There was a knock, and Percy glanced up from his work, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "Come in," he called. The door opened, and Daisy Corran, a pretty, petite brunette who also worked in the Minister's office, smiled as she stepped in.  
"I saw your light on and I was wondering if you were still here - _why _are you still here? It's nearly eight o'clock!"  
Percy straightened and checked his watch, and his eyebrows rose when he saw she was right. "I'm just proofreading some legislation," he said, holding up a sheaf of papers. "I suppose I lost track of time."  
Daisy frowned, then sat in the chair on the other side of Percy's desk, crossing her legs. "Is everything all right, Percy? You've been staying late all week."  
"Everything's fine," Percy replied, straightening the papers and setting them aside. "I just have a lot of work to do right now."  
"We all do, but I think you're the only one pulling twelve-hour days," Daisy pointed out. "Are you sure everything's all right?"  
Percy looked annoyed and reached for another piece of parchment. "I'm fine, Daisy. I assure you."  
Daisy raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "If that's the case, then come out with us on Friday. It's Philip's birthday, and we're all going out to celebrate." Percy opened his mouth to decline, and Daisy pinned him with a look.  
Percy huffed. "Will telling you the truth get you out of here?"  
"Probably."  
"Fine." Looking down at his desk, Percy fiddled with the parchment for a moment before admitting, "My girlfriend and I broke up last week."  
"Oh, Percy," Daisy said sympathetically. "In that case, you've _got_ to come out with us."  
"Daisy - "  
"Come _on_, Percy. Tell you what - any work you miss because of it, I'll do."  
Percy rolled his eyes. "Fine."

The low heels of Hermione's shoes clicked against the floor of the corridor as she walked to the lift. After pressing the button to summon it, she shifted the sleeve of her work robe back to check the time. Nearly six. She knew Percy didn't leave the office until seven even under normal circumstances, so now, he was sure to be in until at least eight (and she ignored the little pang of heartache that accompanied that thought). Her chances of running into him were nil.  
The doors opened, and Hermione did a sweep of the lift for red hair. Clear. She stepped in and, noting the button for the lobby had already been pressed, turned to face the doors with the rest and waited.  
When the doors opened again, Hermione braced herself, and she let out a very nearly audible sigh of relief when Harry stepped on. His face lit up when he spotted her, and he made his way to stand next to her.  
"Hey, Hermione!"  
"Hi, Harry," Hermione replied, beaming over at him, so relieved he wasn't Percy that she felt like she might hug him. "Where's Ron?"  
"Went home already," Harry answered. "I stayed late - developing some new jinxes, you know."  
"Yeah, Ron mentioned."  
"Listen, I'm glad I caught you," Harry said as the doors opened to the lobby and the lift emptied out. "Ginny told me about what happened - " Hermione's eyes skittered away and she bit her lip, and Harry put his hand on her arm to keep her attention on him - "and we were hoping you'd join us and Ron for dinner out tomorrow. There's a new Italian place that's just opened up that Ginny wants to try."  
"This isn't some kind of scheme to get me back together with Ron, is it?" Hermione asked skeptically.  
"Hardly," Harry assured her with a laugh. "You two nearly killed each other last time; I don't want to risk it again."  
"All right," Hermione assented finally, smiling. "You've convinced me. Tomorrow after work?"  
"Brilliant!" Harry grinned. "Ginny will be thrilled - we'll Apparate back to my flat after work to get changed, so bring something nice to wear, all right?"  
Hermione nodded, and Harry grinned at her again before they both Apparated away.

Percy and Hermione bumped into each other in the hallway outside the Minister's office on Friday morning. Hermione had some paperwork to drop off to the Minister's secretary, and Percy was going to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Neither of them were looking up, and Hermione's shoulder jostled Percy's arm.  
"Excuse me," they both said automatically, and they both stopped and stared at each other for a moment before Percy flushed and hurried off to the lifts, and Hermione clutched the papers to her chest like armor.  
It was the first time they had spoken since the break-up.

Going out to dinner was the best thing she could have done, Hermione decided, taking a sip of her wine and laughing as Harry described, with the appropriate hand gestures, the exact effects of the jinx he'd finally perfected that day.  
"...but their feet stay webbed for a few hours after. Once we've got that ironed out, it'll be perfect," he said.  
"You should bring that up to the blokes in Games and Sports," Ron commented, reaching for a piece of bread and spreading some butter on it. "I bet they'd love having webbed feet."  
"Yeah, I'll just go in there and start hexing people," Harry said dryly, reaching for the wine bottle and pouring himself another glass. Ginny held up hers as well, and though Ron looked scandalized, he couldn't exactly stop Harry from refilling it. "That would go over well."  
"It'd make quite a headline for the _Prophet_," Ginny said with a laugh. "'The Boy Who Went Mad?! Harry Potter attacks Department of Magical Games and Sports!'"  
"That was eerie, Ginny," Hermione said, grinning. "You don't work for the _Prophet_ in your spare time, do you?"  
"You found me out. I was just there today, actually; saw your friend Rita - " Hermione made a face - "she says hi and that you should Floo her sometime, she misses you."  
"The day I Floo that woman - !" Hermione snapped, taking another sip of her wine.  
"It'll be the day we check you into St. Mungo's, huh?" Ron asked, grinning.  
"You'll have to; I'll clearly have lost my mind," Hermione agreed. She noticed that Ron's arm had found its way along the back of her chair, and she glanced at it, then looked at Ginny. Ginny noted it as well, and shot Ron a dirty look. Ron looked startled and dropped his arm, and Hermione let it slide for now.

The bar was far too crowded and noisy, and there was something sticky on the floor, but Percy didn't really care. Of course, after the initial celebratory shot in Philip's honor, then the re-do of the celebratory shot because Edward had been a second too late on the first one, and two and a half drinks of his own, it was hard to care about much anymore except trying to stand up straight. He leaned rather heavily on the bar, only half-listening as Jeanette and David argued about the Tutshill Tornadoes' latest victory over the Pride of Portree on either side of him, occasionally glancing between them as they bickered when he wasn't drinking or watching as his fellow Ministry workers made fools of themselves on the dance floor.  
" - and it was absolutely cobbing; that man is all elbows when he's in the air - "  
"Well, he can't help that, can he? Anyway, the referee didn't call him out on it, so he can't have been doing anything - "  
"That referee is blind - remember, he didn't penalize Kiely on bumphing two weeks ago, and he nearly concussed a little girl!"  
"Oh, well, there was that, but still, I don't think it was really an excessive use of elbows - "  
"You're only saying that because you think he's cute."  
Jeanette shrugged and flashed a grin. "Guilty."  
"Hey, Percy!" Daisy shoved her way through the crowd and grabbed his hand. "Come on, dance with me!"  
Percy's weak protests that he didn't dance fell on deaf ears, and Jeanette and David both laughed and catcalled as he was dragged off.

Ron was just about the only thing keeping Hermione up as the four left the restaurant, and she couldn't quite seem to stop giggling. Perhaps that fourth glass of wine hadn't been such a good idea after all, but it was far too nice of a night to worry that much about it. The next day was Saturday, anyway, so on the off-chance that she did get a hangover, she could at least have a lie-in.  
"Great suggestion, Gin," Harry said, slinging his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and kissing her temple.  
"Thanks," Ginny replied, pleased, snaking her arm around Harry's waist. "Max recommended it to us last week at practice, and I thought it sounded perfectly brilliant."  
"'Max?'" Ron repeated.  
"Maxine," Ginny informed him impatiently. "O'Flaherty? She was in Hufflepuff?"  
"I remember her," Hermione spoke up. "She was nice. I didn't know she went professional."  
"Yeah, she's a brilliant Beater," Ginny said with a nod.  
"I like their Chaser better," Harry said, grinning at Ginny. "She's gorgeous, and talented to boot."  
Ron made a face at their flirting, and imitated being sick. Harry and Ginny ignored him, of course, but it got a snicker out of Hermione, which seemed to have been his goal in the first place, as he grinned over at her. They reached the Apparition point at Diagon Alley, and Harry looked at Hermione, concerned.  
"Will you be all right to get home, Hermione?"  
"I'll be fine," Hermione replied, then nearly fell over when Ron let go of her. Harry raised an eyebrow.  
"Ron, see her home, will you?"  
"Yeah, sure," Ron said, completely ignoring Hermione's protests. When she saw she was going to be on the losing end of the argument, Hermione sighed and gave in, resting her hand on Ron's arm. The four exchanged good-byes, and then turned, disappearing into the darkness.  
When they arrived outside of Hermione's flat, Hermione clung to Ron, trying to stay steady on her high heels - an already difficult task made harder by the glasses of wine she'd had. Once she was properly balanced, she colored slightly and straightened, removing her hand from his arm.  
"Thanks for taking me home, Ron," she said, and he just nodded, looking at her with a strange look in his eyes. Hermione tilted her head slightly, a silent question in her own eyes, and then Ron kissed her. Hermione's eyes widened, and she was torn for a moment between kissing him back and hexing him into next week. Then her eyes closed, and her hands found their way to the front of his suit, and for a moment, it was like she was kissing Per -  
- she couldn't do it.  
Pulling away, she shook her head mutely, stepping away from him. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "It's just too soon - "  
"Sure," Ron said, not meeting her eyes. "Sure. I'll. I'll see you later, Hermione." And before she could say a word, he turned on the spot and disappeared. Hermione bit her lip hard, trying to keep it from wobbling, and fumbled in her purse for her keys.  
Maybe things would look better tomorrow morning.

The dancing had begun civilly enough, but it had quickly degraded into dirty dancing as the movement and exertion made the alcohol already flowing through Percy's blood kick in faster. Daisy certainly didn't seem to mind, but then, she had always seemed to delight in trying to make Percy loosen up a little. Usually her efforts were met with a sharp look and a nasty comment, but her sheer persistence meant that she'd have to succeed eventually. His hands were on her waist, and she was grinding up against him, quite pleased to discover that he was just as good of a dancer as she'd thought he would be (although the liquid rhythm was probably helping a lot).  
"You're a brilliant dancer, Percy!" she yelled over the music, and he grinned at her a little unsteadily.  
"Thank you!" he called back, and she pressed up against him tighter as the song changed to something faster.  
Three hours and several drinks later, Percy, Daisy, and Edward staggered out of the bar together, all three alternately talking over each other and laughing as they tried to navigate their way to the nearest alleyway so they could Apparate home. Percy had his arm slung around Daisy's shoulder, and her arm was around his waist, and it was questionable as to who was holding up whom.  
Luckily, there was an alley not too far from the bar, and it was empty. Edward looked at the four people with him, blinked hard, and focused on them as they became two people again.  
"Will you guys be okay getting home?" he asked, the words slurring together slightly. "Not gonna Splinch yourselves or anything, are you?"  
"We'll be fine," Daisy assured him, waving a hand dismissively. "I do this all the time."  
"You Apparate drunk on a regular basis?" Percy asked, staring at her.  
"We can't all be perfect little Ministry people," Daisy teased, poking him in the chest with her free hand.  
Apparently tired of their bickering, Edward bid them good night before turning unsteadily on the spot and Disapparating. There weren't any spare body parts lying around, so he was probably successful.  
There was a moment as Daisy and Percy looked at each other, and without speaking a word, they lunged for each other. Percy's hands went to her waist and Daisy draped her arms over his shoulders, tangling her fingers in his hair, pulling his head down to meet hers. After a moment, Percy pulled back, shaking his head.  
"I'm sorry," he managed to get out, "I can't - "  
"But I thought you'd broken up with your girlfriend," Daisy said, frowning.  
"I did, but - I'm sorry, Daisy - I just - I can't." The pleasant glow began to fade away, leaving Percy feeling sick, dizzy, and very, very drunk. "I need to get home."  
Daisy frowned, dropping her arms. "Fine." Without another word, she turned on the spot and disappeared, and Percy did the same a moment later.

The next morning, Percy woke up feeling like a hippogriff had spent the previous evening tapdancing on his skull. He let out a low groan and threw his arm over his eyes, blocking himself from the sunlight. As he always did after an evening like that, he swore he was never, ever touching alcohol again. Grimacing, he rolled out of bed and, pressing a hand to his head, stumbled out to the kitchen to make some tea to chase the hangover potion with.  
Once he was feeling a little more human, Percy took a quick shower and, as he went back into his bedroom to change, spotted some parchment on his desk. He frowned - he hadn't left any work on his desk, had he? Hadn't he put it all away?  
Crossing to the desk, he picked up the parchment and began to read.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I can't do this anymore. I love you. I miss you. I know I'm not perfect, and I know I'm a pain, but I'm willing to do what I have to so I can be with you again. I want you in my life again, because I'm okay by myself, but I'm so much better with you._

_I am far too drunk to send this right now, but if I still feel this way in the morning, I'll send this to you. If I don't ... you'll never know._

_Love,  
Percy_

Percy's jaw had dropped by the time he finished the letter, and he stared at the parchment as though it were covered with filthy invectives. How could _he_ have written that? He didn't remember writing it, yet here it was, in his own small, neat handwriting, the only clues to his utter lack of sobriety in the way his words tilted down instead of moving straight across, and the occasional smudge where his hand had smeared the ink.  
He knew what he had to do.  
Setting the letter down, he turned to the living room.  
"Hermes!" he called. "I've a letter for you to deliver."

_fin.__  
_


End file.
